Production of Transgenic Silkworm Using Anti-Serum Against Diapause Hormone in Diapause Strains of Silkworm, Bombyx mori

TL;DR

Researchers developed a method to create transgenic silkworms using diapause strains by neutralizing the diapause hormone, enabling genetic modification in industrially useful silkworms.

Contribution

A novel method to produce transgenic silkworms using anti-serum against diapause hormone in diapause strains is demonstrated.

Findings

Anti-serum against BmDH successfully converted diapause eggs to non-diapause type in maternal pupae.

Transgenic silkworms were successfully produced in three diapause strains with different voltinism.

The method is applicable to a wide range of diapause silkworm strains for industrial use.

Abstract

In general, the silkworm, Bombyx mori, has a diapause trait in its eggs. Therefore, transgenic silkworm can be produced by embryonic microinjection using eggs laid by a non-diapause strain in B. mori. In this study, we performed microinjection using eggs of diapause strains which have good characteristics for industrial use, such as a big cocoon, thin and smooth silk, and tolerance against disease due to the growing industrial use of transgenic silkworms. For the conversion of egg diapause traits from diapause to non-diapause types, we used anti-serum against the diapause hormone of B. mori (BmDH), which was injected into maternal pupae, producing non-diapause eggs at a high rate. Finally, we attempted microinjection using three diapause strains with different voltinism (i.e., number of generations of an organism in a year) and were able to successfully produce transgenic silkworms in all three of them, demonstrating that our method is applicable to a wide range of silkworm strains with a diapause trait.

Figures